


Friendship In A Bottle

by FreeCake4All



Category: Professional Wrestling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Light Angst, Pen Pals, and by that I mean they aren’t wrestlers but otherwise everything is the exact same, autistic characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-06-06 02:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15185213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeCake4All/pseuds/FreeCake4All
Summary: While looking for seashells at the beach, Bayley comes across a bottle with a message inside. It’s from someone who calls themselves ‘The Undertaker’, and they’re looking for a pen pal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story (specifically this chapter) originated as a drabble I wrote for a daily prompt challenge by secret—psalms—saturn on tumblr. I've lightly edited but it's otherwise the same as what I originally wrote. The original can be found here: https://freecake4all.tumblr.com/post/171883186385/marching-on-scene-2018-8-friendship-in-a

He looked out over the ocean, watching the waves crash onto the sand and rocks. Thunder rumbled in the distance as he looked at the bottle one last time. He looked back out at the ocean, pulled back his arm, and gave his best throw.

The glass bottle hit the water with a splash, narrowly missing the nearby rocks. He sighed and turned around to leave. _I had better not come to regret this._

***

Bayley walked along the edge of the water, picking up shells and putting them in her bucket. That one was pretty- ooh! So was that one! And that one! And that shell didn’t look like any of the others, she had to keep it! And this one- oh, It had a little hermit crab living in it! “Sorry buddy!”

And so she went, picking up most of the shells that she saw. Her bucket was about a quarter of the way full when she saw something shiny resting on the sand. It looked like an old glass bottle… and something was inside!

Bayley eagerly picked it up. It looked like there was a rolled up piece of paper inside. She set down her bucket and tried to pry out the cork. After a little bit of struggling, and a couple ‘dangit’s, 'darnit’s and 'shoot’s later, the thing came loose. She tilted the bottle, poking one finger in to fish out the paper. She unfolded the paper and began to read. The message read thus:

>   
>  ‘If you are reading this, then you have found my message in a bottle. I have been told that I need to make more friends. Therefore, I have decided to seek out a ‘pen pal’. My address is below.
> 
> The Undertaker.’  
> 

Bayley read the address at the bottom of the letter. She stood there on the beach as the situation sunk in. Then she smiled and ran back towards her and Sasha’s spot on the beach.

“SASHA! I have a new friend!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undertaker goes out to get the mail and finds that he's gotten a response sooner than he expected...

The Undertaker's long black coat blew behind him as he walked down the dirt road. Anyone who saw him out there might have thought he was a madman, wearing all that black in such an oppressive heat. 

Undertaker didn't care what people thought. He liked black.

He finally reached the old, rusted mailbox at the corner where the dirt road met another one going perpendicular to it. Placing one fingerless-gloved hand on top of the mailbox to steady it (the stupid thing was 'bout ready to fall apart; he did **not** want to have to try to fix it again) and opened it with the other hand.

Undertaker reached in and pulled out the newspaper... and something else.

Said something else was a an envelope. An envelope with a few brightly colored stickers and an address he didn't recognize. It took him a few seconds to put two and two together. _Well, that was quick. I think._

When he got back to the house, he tossed the newspaper down on the table before walking over to the old, worn couch, sitting down, and tearing open the envelope.

The letter inside was hand written, a tad messy but quite legible. There were little doodles in the margins: smileys, stars, flowers- cute, simple things like that. Undertaker gave it a quick scan before starting to read.

> Dear The Undertaker,
> 
> Hi! I'm Bayley. I found your letter in a bottle. So I guess we're pen pals now! I've never had a pen pal before.
> 
> What's you're favorite color? I don't know if I have a favorite. There are so many colors I like, but I definitely love bright colors! But you could probably tell that by all the stickers on the envelope. 
> 
> Do you like cats? I don't technically have a cat, but there's this orange tabby with super fluffy fur that hangs out by my house and I give her food and she is just the sweetest thing but she won't come in the house for some reason. I love her!
> 
> I really like wrestling! My favorite wrestler is Macho Man Randy Savage! There are so many great wrestlers today but no one could EVER top him! Do you like wrestling? 'The Undertaker' kinda sounds like it could be a wrestler's name. I go to wrestling shows whenever I get the chance. It's really fun even when you're sitting all the way up at the top and in the back!
> 
> I can't wait to hear from you!
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Bayley.
> 
> P.S. *HUG!*

Undertaker couldn't help but give the barest hint of a smile. He folded the letter back up again and looked around for somewhere to place it. He looked at the mantle above the fireplace.

_No. Bad idea. That's just **asking** for it to fall and get burned._

He got up and walked over to the door to his bedroom, opening it. Once inside, he opened the drawer of the nightstand next to his bed and placed the letter inside. He grabbed a pen and shut the drawer.

_Now, where's that paper..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting a tad meta in this one, eh?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now it's Bayley's turn to get a first impression of her new pen pal...

"Bayley!"

"Hmm?" Bayley came out of her thoughts and looked up from her cereal to look at her roommate.

"I think this is for you." Sasha tossed an envelope down on the kitchen table and continued looking through the mail.

Bayley swallowed her mouthful of cereal and picked up the plain white envelope. She gave a wide smile when she saw the address it was from. She tore it open quickly and unfolded the letter. The handwriting was rough yet somehow neat in its own strange way. She started reading.

> Bayley,
> 
> Hello. I was suprised at how quickly I got a response. It wouldn't surprise me if we were at the same beach that day.
> 
> My favorite color is black. I also like very, very dark purple.
> 
> I like cats. I don't 'own' any either, but there are a few who come by my home. I make sure to leave out food for them. You have to be patient with getting cats to trust you. You can't be as foreward with cats as with dogs. Gotta give 'em space.
> 
> I enjoy wrestling as well. I've been to a couple of shows in my life but it's been a while.

There were a few lines that were scribbled out beyond readability.

> Do you have any hobbies? I enjoy woodwork. I mostly make coffins and caskets. I sell some of them- that's how I make a living. It's important that you don't mix them up. Coffins have six sides and taper at the ends, whereas caskets have four sides and don't taper. Humans have been burying people in boxes since at least ancient Mesopotamia...

Here the letter turned into a short lesson on the history of funerals and burial practices. _Well, he certainly has a passion._

> ... I find it somewhat disappointing that coffins seem to be falling out of fashion in favor of caskets. Don't get me wrong, caskets are a classic, but there's just something about coffins.

Another scribbled out line with something Bayley could just barely make out to be a question mark at the end.

> I await your reply.
> 
> The Undertaker

Bayley folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope.

After putting her bowl and spoon in the dishwasher, she looked around the house until she found a piece of paper and a pen. She walked into her room, grabbed a clipboard, and sat on her bed. She clicked her pen and made a quick scribble in the corner to make sure it worked. It did.

She placed pen to paper.

> Dear The Undertaker...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys think I should go back and change the letter segments so that they're in italics? I feel like it would help further distinguish them from the prose segments, but I want to know your opinions first.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley's latest letter to The Undertaker comes with a question... and a gift!

_"I don't need more friends. One is enough. I have you."_

__

_"Undertaker?"_

__

__

_"What?"_

__

__

_"You need more friends than just me."_

__

__

_"..."_

__

__

_"..."_

__

__

_"...Fine..."_

*

It was another sunny, hot Death Valley Monday morning as Undertaker put the last plate back in the cabinet, lost in his thoughts as usual. Undertaker had to admit, he was kind of liking this 'making another friend' thing. At least, he liked doing it through the mail. _Easier than in person, that's for sure..._

*

Having trekked out to the mailbox and back, Undertaker sat down at the rough hewn wooden table and ripped open the envelope and took out the letter inside.  
He noticed that the letter had a little scribble in the top left corner. Hmm.  


> Dear The Undertaker,  
>  What's it look like where you live? I looked up the town in your address and it's right in the middle of a desert. It must get hot there! It gets pretty hot here too. Do you get dust storms? Are they the really big, scary, block out the sun ones?  
> 
> 
> I've been wondering, why do you call yourself 'The Undertaker'? That can't be your real name, right? Is it because you make coffins?  
> 

Undertaker sighed. _There's a lot more to it than that, kid, believe me._  


> I mean, you don't have to tell me your real name if you're not comfortable with that.  
> 

__  
_  
**Good.**  
_

> Anyway, I was wondering what kind of books you like! That is, if you read. Do you like to read? If you do, what kind of stuff do you like to read? I wouldn't really call myself a bookworm but I've been reading the Chronicles of Narnia series lately and I'm really liking it! You've probably heard of it? It's a pretty old series. It took me a while to start cause there's like two different reading orders and it was really hard to pick but eventually I just went with The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe cause that's the first book that came out and the first one they made into a movie and-  
> 

Bayley went on like this for a little while, rambling on about the series and why she liked it so much, and over the course of just a few paragraphs somehow ending up on the subject of Bento boxes. It was almost impressive.  


The last few sentences were squished into the bottom inch of the page.  


> Well, it looks like this is my last piece of paper, I'm gonna have to buy more next time I go to the store. I hope you're having a nice day!  
> 
> 
> P.S. *HUG!*  
> 
> 
> P.P.S. Here's a shell from the beach!  
> 

Taped to the letter was a light greyish purple scallop shell. Undertaker carefully removed the tape and picked up the shell. He turned it over and back again, watching the shiny white underside glint in the morning sunlight. He slowly rubbed his thumb over the ridged top of the shell. _Feels good._  


He continued to absent-mindedly rub his thumb back and forth over the shell as he folded the letter and put it away.  


_Yeah. Maybe he was right..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. Real life stuff happened, and then I got writers block, but I think I'm back in my groove!


End file.
